CN107017526B

CN107017526B - Electrical connector with resonance control

Info

Publication number: CN107017526B
Application number: CN201710020545.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: M.J.菲利普斯; T.T.德布尔; B.A.钱皮恩; J.J.孔索利; S.帕特尔; L.E.希尔兹
Original assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
Priority date: 2016-01-12
Filing date: 2017-01-11
Publication date: 2020-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2037-01-11
Also published as: US9531130B1; CN107017526A

Abstract

An electrical connector includes a housing (110) having a mating housing (118) and a contact organizer (119). The contact organizer has contact channels (160) including signal contact channels and ground contact channels separated by partition walls (164). The contact passage has an inner end (180) between the dividing walls and an open outer end (182) opposite the inner end. The ground contacts (124) and the signal contacts (122) are received in the ground contact channels and the signal contact channels, respectively. The contact organizer has a lossy filler (130) at an inner end of the ground contact passage. The lossy filler is fabricated from a lossy material capable of absorbing electrical resonances propagating through the outer shell. The ground contact is positioned adjacent to a lossy filler at an inner end of the ground contact passage.

Description

Electrical connector with resonance control

Technical Field

The invention relates to an electrical connector with signal contacts and ground contacts

Background

Some communication systems utilize electrical connectors mounted to a circuit board to interconnect other components for data communication. For example, an electrical connector may include a housing that holds contacts that are terminated to a circuit board. The housing and the contacts define a mating interface for mating with a mating connector (e.g., a circuit card, a plug connector, etc.) to connect such mating connector to a circuit board. Some known electrical connectors have performance issues, particularly when transmitting at high data rates. For example, electrical connectors typically utilize differential pairs of signal contacts to carry high speed signals. The ground contacts improve signal integrity. However, when transmitting high data rates, the electrical performance of known communication connectors is suppressed by noise and return loss from crosstalk. For fine pitch high speed data connectors, this problem is even more problematic, such connectors being noisy and exhibiting higher than desired return loss due to the close proximity of the signal and ground contacts. Energy from the ground contacts on either side of the signal pair may be reflected in the space between the ground contacts, and such noise results in reduced connector performance and throughput.

There is a need for a high density, high speed electrical connector having reliable performance.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the present invention, an electrical connector includes a housing having a mating housing and a contact organizer. The mating shell has a mating slot configured to receive a mating connector having contact pads. The contact organizer has contact channels separated by partition walls. The contact passage has an inner end between the partition walls and an open outer end opposite the inner end. The contact channels include signal contact channels and ground contact channels. The contact assembly is disposed in the housing. The contact assembly has ground contacts and signal contacts interposed between corresponding ground contacts. The ground contacts and the signal contacts are received in the ground contact channels and the signal contact channels, respectively. The contact organizer has a lossy filler at the inner end of the ground contact passage. The lossy filler is fabricated from a lossy material capable of absorbing electrical resonances propagating through the outer shell. The ground contact is positioned adjacent to a lossy filler at an inner end of the ground contact passage.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a circuit board assembly formed in accordance with an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the circuit board assembly.

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of a portion of an electrical connector of a circuit board assembly formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, illustrating a contact assembly.

Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of a portion of an electrical connector showing a first leadframe assembly and a second leadframe assembly of contact assemblies loaded into a contact organizer of the electrical connector.

Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of a portion of an electrical connector showing a first leadframe assembly and a second leadframe assembly loaded into a contact organizer.

Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a rear perspective view of a portion of an electrical connector showing a contact assembly and lossy filler according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a partial exploded view of a portion of an electrical connector showing a contact organizer and lossy filler according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 9 is an assembly view of a portion of an electrical connector showing a lossy filler member, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a rear perspective view of a portion of an electrical connector showing a contact assembly and a contact organizer according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 11 is an exploded view of a portion of the contact organizer of fig. 10, showing a lossy filler.

Fig. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of an electrical connector showing a contact array and a contact organizer, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Embodiments set forth herein may include various electrical connectors configured to communicate data signals. The electrical connectors may mate with corresponding mating connectors to communicatively interconnect the different components of the communication system. In the illustrated embodiment, the electrical connector is a receptacle connector that mounts and electrically couples to a circuit board. The receptacle connector is configured to mate with a pluggable input/output (I/O) connector during a mating operation. However, it should be understood that the inventive subject matter set forth herein may be applicable to other types of electrical connectors. In various embodiments, the electrical connector provides a lossy ground filler to provide resonance control. Further, in various embodiments, the electrical connector is particularly suited for high-speed communication systems, such as network systems, servers, data centers, and the like, where data rates may be greater than 5 gigabits per second (Gbps). However, one or more embodiments may be suitable for data rates less than 5 Gbps.

In various embodiments described and/or illustrated herein, an electrical connector includes signal conductors and ground conductors positioned relative to one another to form a pattern or array including one or more rows (or columns). The signal conductors and ground conductors of a single row (or column) may be substantially coplanar. The signal conductors and ground conductors may be right angle conductors with approximately 90 ° bends along the length of the conductors. The signal conductors form signal pairs, with each signal pair having ground conductors on both sides. The ground conductors electrically separate the signal pairs to reduce electromagnetic interference or crosstalk and provide a reliable ground return path. The signal conductors and ground conductors in a single row are patterned to form a plurality of sub-arrays. Each sub-array comprises, in turn, a ground conductor, a signal conductor, and a ground conductor. This arrangement is referred to as a ground-signal-ground (or GSSG) sub-array. The sub-array may be repeated so that the exemplary conductor rows may be formed as G-S-G-S-G, with two ground conductors located between two adjacent signal pairs. However, in the illustrated embodiment, adjacent signal pairs share ground conductors such that the pattern is G-S-S-G-S-S-G-S-S-G. In the two examples above, the sub-arrays are referred to as GSSG sub-arrays. More specifically, the term "GSSG subarray" encompasses subarrays that share one or more intervening ground conductors.

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a circuit board assembly 100 formed in accordance with an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the circuit board assembly 100. The circuit board assembly 100 includes a circuit board 102 and an electrical connector 104 mounted on a board surface 106 of the circuit board 102. The mating connector 108 (fig. 2) is configured to mate with the electrical connector 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the mating connector 108 is or includes a circuit card, such as a dual card (paddle card) type printed circuit board; however, other types of mating components may be used in alternative embodiments. For example, the mating connector 108 may be a plug connector having a housing that holds contacts or circuit cards. In the illustrated embodiment, the mating connector 108 includes contact pads 109 on one or both surfaces of the mating connector 108 that are configured to electrically connect to corresponding contacts of the electrical connector 104.

The circuit board assembly 100 is oriented with respect to mutually perpendicular axes, including a mating axis 191, a lateral axis 192, a vertical axis or a pitch axis 193. In fig. 1, the vertical axis 193 extends parallel to the direction of gravity. However, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are not limited to having a particular orientation with respect to gravity. For example, in other embodiments, the transverse axis 192 or mating axis 191 may extend parallel to the direction of gravity. The mating connector 108 is mated with the electrical connector 104 along a mating axis 191.

In some embodiments, the circuit board assembly 100 may be a daughter card assembly configured to engage a backplane or a midplane communication system (not shown). In other embodiments, the circuit board assembly 100 may include a plurality of electrical connectors 104 mounted to the circuit board 102 along an edge of the circuit board 102, wherein each electrical connector 104 is configured to engage a corresponding pluggable input/output (I/O) connector, such as or including a mating connector 108. The electrical connector 104 and the mating connector 108 may be configured to meet certain industry standards such as, but not limited to, the small form factor pluggable (SFP) standard, the enhanced SFP (SFP +) standard, the four-channel SFP (qsfp) standard, the C-form factor pluggable (CFP) standard, and the 10 gigabit SFP standard, which is also commonly referred to as the XFP standard. In some embodiments, the pluggable I/O connector may be configured to be compatible with Small Form Factor (SFF) specifications, such as SFF-8644 and SFF-8449 HD. In some embodiments, the electrical connectors 104 described herein may be high-speed electrical connectors capable of transmitting data at a rate of at least about five (5) gigabits per second (Gbps). In some embodiments, the electrical connector 104 described herein may be a high-speed electrical connector capable of transmitting data at a rate of at least about 10Gbps or greater.

Although not shown, each electrical connector 104 may be positioned within a receptacle cage. The receptacle cage may be configured to receive one or more mating connectors 108 during a mating operation and to guide the mating connectors 108 toward the corresponding electrical connectors 104. The circuit board assembly 100 may also include other devices communicatively coupled to the electrical connector 104 through the circuit board 102. The electrical connector 104 may be positioned proximate to one edge of the circuit board 102.

The electrical connector 104 includes a housing 110 having a plurality of walls, including a first end 111, a second end 112, a front end 113, a rear end 114, a first side 115, and a second side 116. In alternative embodiments, the housing 110 may include more or fewer walls. The

housing sides

115, 116 extend between the front end 113 and the rear end 114, and between the first end 111 and the second end 112. The front end 113 and the rear end 114 face in opposite directions along the mating axis 191. The first side 115 and the second side 116 face in opposite directions along the lateral axis 192. The first end 111 and the second end 112 face in opposite directions along the vertical axis 193. Housing 110 extends a height between a first end 111 and a second end 112. The housing 110 extends a width between a front end 113 and a rear end 114. The housing 110 extends a length between a first side 115 and a second side 116.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first end 111 defines a top end and may be referred to hereinafter as the top end 111, and the second end 112 defines a bottom end and may be referred to hereinafter as the bottom end 112. The bottom end 112 faces the plate surface 106 and may be mounted to or engage the plate surface 106. The top end 111 faces away from the circuit board 102 and may have a maximum height of the housing wall relative to the board surface 106.

In the illustrated embodiment of fig. 1, the electrical connector 104 is a right angle connector such that the front end 113 (which is the receiving side) and the bottom end 112 (which is the mounting side) are oriented substantially perpendicular or orthogonal to each other. More specifically, the front end 113 faces a receiving direction along the mating axis 191, and the mounting side faces a mounting direction along the vertical axis 193. In other embodiments, the receiving side and the mounting side may face in different directions than those shown in fig. 1. For example, the top end 111 may define a receiving side that receives the mating connector 108 such that the electrical connector 104 is a vertical connector rather than a right angle connector.

The housing 110 includes a mating slot 117 (fig. 1) sized and shaped to receive a portion of the mating connector 108. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the mating slot 117 is sized and shaped to receive an edge of the mating connector 108, including the contact pad 109. A mating slot 117 is positioned between the top end 111 and the bottom end 112. The mating slot 117 is open at the front end 113 such that an upper portion of the housing 110 is positioned between the mating slot 117 and the top end 111 and a lower portion of the housing 110 is positioned between the mating slot 117 and the bottom end 112. The mating slot 117 is shown as being open at the front end 113; however, in alternative embodiments, the mating slot 117 may have other locations, such as being open at the top end 111.

In an exemplary embodiment, the housing 110 may be a multi-piece (multi-piece) housing. For example, the housing 110 includes a mating housing 118 and a contact organizer 119 that are separate and discrete pieces coupled together at a mating interface. The mating housing 118 is coupled to the contact organizer 119 and may be positioned in front of and above the contact organizer 119 such that the contact organizer 119 is behind and below the mating housing 118; however, in alternative embodiments, other configurations are possible. The contact organizer 119 maintains the relative position of the contacts for mounting to the circuit board 102 and guides the contacts into the mating housing 118. The mating shell 118 maintains the relative position of the contacts for mating with the mating connector 108. The housing 110 may contain other housing pieces coupled to the mating housing 118 and/or the contact organizer 119, which may be used to support contacts, secure pieces together, secure the housing 110 to another component (e.g., the circuit board 102), or for other purposes. In alternative embodiments, the mating housing 118 and the contact organizer 119 (and/or other pieces) may comprise a single, unitary body, such as a molded, dielectric body, in which case the mating housing 118 and the contact organizer 119 are considered the mating housing section 118 and the contact organizer section 119 of the single housing 110.

The electrical connector 104 includes a contact assembly 120 held by the housing 110. The contact assembly 120 includes one or more contact arrays 121 (e.g., upper and lower contact arrays, or front or rear contact arrays) disposed within the housing 110. The contact assembly 120 is retained by the contact organizer 119 and the mating housing 118. In the exemplary embodiment, each contact array 121 includes a signal contact 122 and a ground contact 124 that extend into the mating slot 117 to mate with a corresponding contact pad 109. The

contacts

122, 124 are held within the mating slot 117 by the mating shell 118, for example, along both sides of the mating slot 117. The signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 also extend to the bottom end 112 for mounting to the circuit board 102. For example, the ends of the signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 may be surface mounted (e.g., soldered) to the circuit board 102 or press fit into plated vias in the circuit board 102 to mechanically and electrically connect to the circuit board 102. The contact organizer 119 holds the ends of the signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 at the bottom end 112 for mounting to the circuit board 102.

The contact assemblies 120 are arranged in the housing 110 such that the signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 of one contact array 121 are arranged in a first row (e.g., an upper row) and the signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 of another contact array 121 are arranged in a second row (e.g., a lower row). The signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 arranged in the upper row are disposed between the mating slot 117 and the top end 111, and the signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 arranged in the lower row are disposed between the mating slot 117 and the bottom end 112. The first and second rows of signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 are disposed on opposite sides of the mating slot 117. The signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 may be arranged in front and rear rows generally at the front and

rear ends

113 and 114, respectively. In the exemplary embodiment, the first row defines both the upper and rear rows because the corresponding signal and

ground contacts

122, 124 are arranged along the top and

rear ends

111, 114, and the second row defines the lower and front rows because the corresponding signal and

ground contacts

122, 124 are arranged along the bottom and front ends 112, 113.

The signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 may be arranged to form a plurality of ground-signal-ground (GSSG) sub-arrays, wherein each pair of signal contacts 122 is located between two ground contacts 124. The electrical connector 104 may also include at least one lossy filler 130 (shown in fig. 6). Lossy fillers 130 are distributed throughout the housing 110 in selected locations, such as contact organizers 119 adjacent corresponding ground contacts 124. Each lossy filler 130 is configured to absorb: at least some electrical resonances propagating along the current paths defined by the ground contacts 124 and/or at least some electrical resonances propagating along the signal paths defined by the corresponding signal contacts 122. The lossy filler 130 can be coupled to one or more ground contacts 124, such as directly to one or more ground contacts 124 at a ground contact interface that directly engages a corresponding ground contact 124. The lossy filler 130 can control or limit undesirable resonance within the ground contacts 124 that occurs during operation of the electrical connector 104. The lossy filler 130 can effectively reduce the frequency of energy resonating within the outer shell 110. A majority of the material of the contact organizer 119 is made of a low loss dielectric material, such as a plastic material. Low loss dielectric materials have relatively small frequency dependent dielectric characteristics.

Lossy filler 130 may be disposed at or near rear end 114 to couple to one or more ground contacts 124 in the rear row. Lossy filler 130 may be disposed at or near front end 113 to couple to one or more ground contacts 124 in the front row. Alternatively, the lossy filler 130 may extend a distance between the front end 113 and the rear end 114 to couple to the ground contacts 124 in the front and rear rows. For example, lossy filler 130 may span the entire width of contact organizer 119 to engage ground contacts at the front and rear of contact organizer 119. Lossy filler 130 may be disposed at or near top end 111 to couple to one or more ground contacts 124 in the upper row. Lossy filler 130 may be disposed at or near bottom end 112 to couple to one or more ground contacts 124 in the lower and/or upper rows.

In an exemplary embodiment, the lossy filler 130 comprises a lossy material capable of absorbing at least some electrical resonances that propagate through the electrical connector 104 along the current paths defined by the signal contacts 122 and/or the ground contacts 124. For example, lossy material may be embedded in the housing 110. Lossy materials have dielectric properties that vary with frequency. The lossy material provides lossy electrical and/or magnetic losses through a portion of the electrical connector 104. Lossy materials are capable of conducting electrical energy, but at least some loss. The lossy material is less conductive than the conductive material (e.g., the conductive material of contacts 122, 124). The lossy material may be designed to provide electrical loss in a certain target frequency range, for example, through selection of the lossy material, placement of the lossy material, proximity of the lossy material to ground and signal paths, and so forth. The lossy material may comprise conductive particles (or fillers) dispersed within a dielectric (binder) material. A dielectric material (e.g., a polymer or epoxy) is used as an adhesive to hold the conductive particle filler elements in place. These conductive particles then impart losses to the lossy material. In some embodiments, the lossy material is formed by mixing a binder with a filler that includes conductive particles. Examples of electrically conductive particles that may be used as fillers to form electrically lossy materials include carbon or graphite formed into fibers, flakes, or other particles. Metal or other conductive particles in the form of powder, flakes, fibers may also be used to provide suitable loss properties. Alternatively, a combination of fillers may be used. For example, metal plated (or coated) particles may be used. Silver and nickel may also be used to plate the particles. The plated (or coated) particles may be used alone or in combination with other fillers (e.g., carbon flakes). In some embodiments, the filler may be present in a sufficient volume percentage to allow for the formation of a conductive path from particle to particle. For example, when metal fibers are used, the fibers may be present in an amount of up to 40% by volume or more. Lossy materials can be magnetically and/or electrically lossy. For example, the lossy material may be formed of a binder material in which magnetic particles are dispersed to provide magnetism. The magnetic particles may be in the form of flakes, fibers, and the like. Materials such as magnesium ferrite, nickel ferrite, lithium ferrite, yttrium garnet and/or aluminum garnet may be used as the magnetic particles. In some embodiments, the lossy material may be both an electrically-lossy material and a magnetically-lossy material. Such lossy material may be formed, for example, by: by using partially conductive magnetically-lossy filler particles, or by using a combination of magnetically-lossy filler particles and electrically-lossy filler particles.

As used herein, the term "adhesive" includes materials that encapsulate or are impregnated with a filler. The binder material may be any material that will set, cure, or otherwise be used to position the filler material. In some embodiments, the adhesive may be a thermoplastic material, such as those materials conventionally used to make electrical connector housings. The thermoplastic material may be molded, for example, to mold the lossy filler member 130 into a desired shape and/or position. However, many alternatives of adhesive materials may be used. Curable materials such as epoxy resins may be used as the adhesive. Alternatively, a material such as a thermosetting resin or an adhesive may be used.

The electrical performance of the communication connector 104 is enhanced by including lossy material in the lossy filler 130. For example, return loss is suppressed by lossy materials at various data rates, including high data rates. For example, the return loss of small pitch, high speed data of the contact array 121 due to the close proximity of the signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 is reduced by the lossy filler 130. For example, energy from the ground contacts 124 on either side of the signal pair that is reflected in the space between the ground contacts 124 is absorbed, thereby enhancing connector performance and throughput.

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, illustrating the contact assembly 120. The contact assembly 120 includes a first leadframe assembly 140 and a second leadframe assembly 142. The

leadframe assemblies

140, 142 each include one of the contact arrays 121 and an overmolded body 144 that supports the ground contacts 124 and the signal contacts 122 of the contact arrays 121. The overmolded body 144 is overmolded onto the lead frame of the

contacts

122, 124 to maintain the relative position of the

contacts

122, 124. During manufacture, the signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 may be stamped and formed contacts defining a lead frame. The leadframe arranges the contacts in an array and the carrier strip of the leadframe may be removed after stamping and forming to define the contact array 121. The leadframe is overmolded to form an overmolded body 144.

The

lead frame assemblies

140, 142 may be stacked such that the first lead frame assembly 140 is above the second lead frame assembly 142. Thus, the first leadframe assembly 140 may be an upper leadframe assembly and the second leadframe assembly 142 may be a lower leadframe assembly, with corresponding component portions identified with such upper and lower identifiers, such as an upper contact array or an upper overmolded body, or the like.

The signal contacts 122 in the first leadframe assembly 140 may also be specifically identified as upper or rear signal contacts, and the ground contacts 124 in the first leadframe assembly 140 may also be specifically identified as upper or rear ground contacts, while the signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 in the second leadframe assembly 142 may be identified as lower or front signal contacts and ground contacts. The upper and lower signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124 generally have similar features, which may be referred to herein using similar reference numerals; however, the upper signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 may have different shapes than the lower signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124.

The

contacts

122, 124 each have a body 145 extending between a mating end 146 and a terminating end 148. The

contacts

122, 124 may have deflectable mating beams at the mating ends 146 for mating with the contact pads 109 of the mating connector 108 (both shown in fig. 1). The

contacts

122, 124 may have solder tails at the terminating ends 148 for surface mounting to the circuit board 102 (shown in fig. 1). In alternative embodiments, other types of mating or terminating portions may be provided, such as compliant pins at terminating end 148. The

contacts

122, 124 have a transition section 150 between the mating end 146 and the terminating end 148.

Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 showing the first leadframe assembly 140 and the second leadframe assembly 142 loaded into the contact organizer 119. Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 showing the first leadframe assembly 140 and the second leadframe assembly 142 loaded into the contact organizer 119. The mating housing 118 (shown in fig. 1) may be coupled to the contact organizer 119 above the

leadframe assemblies

140, 142, e.g., from the front. In an exemplary embodiment, the contact organizer 119 organizes and aligns the signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 of both of the

leadframe assemblies

140, 142. For example, the contact organizer 119 includes rear contact channels 160 (fig. 5) that receive the upper signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124. The contact organizer 119 includes front contact channels 162 (fig. 4) that receive the lower signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124. The

contact channels

160, 162 that receive the signal contacts 122 may be referred to as

signal contact channels

160, 162, while the

contact channels

160, 162 that receive the ground contacts 124 may be referred to as

ground contact channels

160, 162.

The rear contact channels 160 are open at the rear end of the contact organizer 119, and a spacer or divider wall 164 is provided at opposite sides of each contact channel 160. The partition walls 164 may retain and position the

upper contacts

122, 124 in the contact channels 160. The front contact channels 162 are open at the front end of the contact organizer 119, and a spacer or dividing wall 166 is provided at opposite sides of each contact channel 162. The dividing walls 166 may retain and position the

lower contacts

122, 124 in the contact channels 162.

Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electrical connector 104 according to an exemplary embodiment. The mating housing 118 is shown coupled to a contact organizer 119. The

lead frame assemblies

140, 142 are held in the mating housing 118. For example, the overmolded body 144 positions the

contacts

122, 124 in the mating slots 117 with the mating end 146 at the front end 113 for mating with the mating connector 108 (shown in fig. 2). The transition section 150 transitions from the overmolded body 144 to the contact organizer 119 and is received in the

contact channels

160, 162. The contact organizer 119 holds the termination end 148 for termination to the circuit board 102 (shown in fig. 1).

In the exemplary embodiment, contact organizer 119 includes a base 170 that extends between a first side 172 and a second side 174 of contact organizer 119. The base 170 includes a top 176 and a bottom 178. The bottom portion 178 faces the circuit board 102. In the exemplary embodiment, mating housing 118 covers top 176. The base 170 may be made of a low loss dielectric material, such as a plastic material. Low loss dielectric materials have relatively small frequency dependent dielectric characteristics.

The rear contact channels 160 are disposed at the first side 172 and the front contact channels 162 are disposed at the second side 174. In the exemplary embodiment,

contact channels

160, 162 have an inner end 180 at base 170 and an outer end 182 that opens at first side 172 and second side 174, respectively. The

contacts

122, 124 may be loaded into the

contact channels

160, 162 through the open outer ends 182. The

contacts

122, 124 may engage (e.g., press against) the inner end 180. For example, the dividing

walls

164, 166 may have features that hold the

contacts

122, 124 against the inner ends 180. In other various embodiments, the transition section 150 may be formed (e.g., bent) such that the natural internal bias of the

contacts

122, 124 holds the

contacts

122, 124 against the inner end 180 when the

contacts

122, 124 are loaded into the

contact channels

160, 162. In the illustrated embodiment, the rear contact channels 160 are vertical, while the front contact channels 162 have angled or angled portions that guide the terminating ends 148 of the

front contacts

122, 124 away from the terminating ends 148 of the

rear contacts

122, 124. The base 170 defines a wedge at a front side 174. In alternative embodiments, other orientations are possible, such as both vertical, both angled, or otherwise.

In the exemplary embodiment, contact organizer 119 includes a recess 184 in base 170 that receives lossy filler 130. The lossy filler 130 can be molded, such as injection molded, into the recess 184. For example, the contact organizer 119 may be molded in a multiple injection molding process, such as a two-shot molding process, in which case the lossy filler member 130 and the base 170 are co-molded separately from different materials (e.g., lossy materials and low-loss plastic materials). Alternatively, the lossy filler 130 can be molded separately and inserted into the recess 184 during the assembly process.

The recess 184 may be open at the inner end 180 of the rear contact channel 160 and/or the front contact channel 162 to receive the lossy filler 130. In the illustrated embodiment, the recess 184 extends completely through the base 170 between the first and second sides 172, 174 and opens to both of the

contact channels

160, 162. Optionally, the recess 184 may be open at the top 176 and/or the bottom 178; however, in the illustrated embodiment, the recess 184 is closed at the top 176 and bottom 178. In the exemplary embodiment, the recess 184 is associated with the ground contact channels 160, 162 (e.g., the contact channels that receive the ground contacts 124), and thereby the lossy filler 130 is positioned between the ground contacts 124. The

signal contact channels

160, 162 do not include the recess 184. Instead, the low loss dielectric material of the base 170 is disposed between the signal contacts 122.

The lossy filler 130 includes at least one edge that faces and (in various embodiments) engages a corresponding ground contact 124. In the exemplary embodiment, each lossy filler 130 includes a first edge 186 that engages the ground contact 124 in the rear contact channel 160, and a second edge 188 that engages the ground contact 124 in the front contact channel 162. The edges 186, 188 can be disposed at the inner end 180 (e.g., coplanar with the inner end 180) and can define at least a portion of a surface of the inner end 180. In the illustrated embodiment, the rear edge 186 is substantially vertical, while the front edge 188 is angled non-parallel to the rear edge 186; however, in alternative embodiments, other orientations are possible.

In the exemplary embodiment, lossy filler 130 includes a locating feature or key 194 for locating and/or securing lossy filler 130 within base 170. The key 194 may be a groove (as in the illustrated embodiment), a protrusion, or another feature. The base 170 may include complementary locating features or keys 196 that interact with the keys 194. The

keys

194, 196 lock the lossy filler 130 in the contact organizer 119.

Fig. 7 is a rear perspective view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 showing the contact assembly 120 and lossy filler 130 with the outer shell 110 (shown in fig. 1) removed to show the position of the lossy filler 130 relative to the ground contacts 124. Lossy filler 130 may be generally planar members spaced apart from one another along parallel ground planes. The ground contacts 124 are disposed along a ground plane. The pair of signal contacts 122 is disposed between the ground planes.

The lossy filler 130 is configured to absorb: at least some electrical resonances propagating along the current paths defined by the ground contacts 124 and/or at least some electrical resonances propagating along the signal paths defined by the corresponding signal contacts 122. The lossy filler 130 can control or limit undesirable resonance within the ground contacts 124 that occurs during operation of the electrical connector 104. The lossy filler 130 can effectively reduce the frequency of energy resonating within the contact assembly 120. The electrical performance of the communication connector 104 is enhanced by including lossy material in the lossy filler 130. For example, return loss is suppressed by lossy materials at various data rates, including high data rates. For example, return loss of small pitch, high speed data of the contact assembly 120 due to the close proximity of the signal contacts 122 and the ground contacts 124 is reduced by the lossy filler 130. For example, energy from the ground contacts 124 on either side of the signal pair that is reflected in the space between the ground contacts 124 is absorbed, thereby enhancing connector performance and throughput.

Fig. 8 is a partially exploded view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 showing the contact organizer 119 and lossy filler 130, according to an exemplary embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, lossy filler 130 is manufactured (e.g., separately molded) separately from base 170 of contact organizer 119. Lossy filler 130 is loaded into recess 184, such as through top 176. The lossy filler 130 includes splines 194 in the form of rails along opposite sides of the lossy filler 130 that are received in slots defining splines 196 in the base 170.

Fig. 9 is an assembly view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 showing the lossy filler 130 (of the embodiment shown in fig. 8) loaded into the base 170 of the contact organizer 119. The lossy filler 130 is exposed at the inner ends 180 of the

ground contact channels

160, 162 to interface with the ground contacts 124 (shown in fig. 1).

Fig. 10 is a rear perspective view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 showing the contact assembly 120 and the contact organizer 119, according to an exemplary embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, the contact organizer 119 includes an upper contact organizer 200 and a lower contact organizer 202. The lower contact organizer 202 may be the same as the contact organizer 119 shown above. Alternatively, the lower contact organizer 202 may be similar to the contact organizer 119, but without lossy filler therein. The upper contact organizer 200 is positioned above the lower contact organizer 202, between the overmolded body 144 and the top of the lower contact organizer 202. Both the upper contact organizer 200 and the lower contact organizer 202 contain rear contact channels 160 and front contact channels 162 (shown in fig. 11). In the exemplary embodiment, one or both of upper contact organizer 200 and lower contact organizer 202 include lossy filler 130 (shown in fig. 11).

Fig. 11 is an exploded view of the upper contact organizer 200. The upper contact organizer 200 includes a base 204 having a recess 206 configured to hold the lossy filler 130. The upper contact organizer 200 contains

contact channels

160, 162 with

partition walls

164, 166 between them. In an exemplary embodiment, the recess 206 spans between the

contact channels

160, 162 to engage the ground contacts 124 (shown in fig. 12) held in the upper contact organizer 200.

Fig. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of the electrical connector 104 showing the contact array 121 and an upper contact organizer 200 holding the signal contacts 122 and ground contacts 124, with a lower contact organizer 202 (fig. 11) and the mating shell 118 (fig. 1) removed to illustrate the location of the lossy filler 130 relative to the ground contacts 124. Lossy filler 130 extends between top 210 and bottom 212 of upper contact organizer 200 to engage transition section 150 of ground contact 124. The lossy filler member 130 is positioned closer to the mating end 146 than in the embodiment shown in fig. 6.

Claims

1. An electrical connector (104) comprising a housing (110) having a mating housing (118) with a mating slot (117) configured to receive a mating connector (108) having contact pads (109), and a contact organizer (119) having contact channels (160) separated by dividing walls (164) with inner ends (180) between the dividing walls and open outer ends (182) opposite the inner ends, the contact channels comprising signal contact channels and ground contact channels, a contact assembly (120) disposed in the housing, the contact assembly having ground contacts (124) and signal contacts (122) interposed between corresponding ground contacts, the ground contacts and the signal contacts being received in the ground contact channels and the signal contact channels, respectively, the method is characterized in that:

the contact organizer has a lossy filler (130) at an inner end of the ground contact passage, the lossy filler being made of a lossy material capable of absorbing electrical resonances propagating through the housing, the ground contact being positioned adjacent the lossy filler at the inner end of the ground contact passage.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the contact organizer (119) has a base (170) extending between a first side (172) and a second side (174), the contact channels (160, 162) being disposed at both the first side and the second side, the lossy filler (130) spanning between the contact channels at the first side and the second side.

3. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein each lossy filler (130) joins a plurality of the ground contacts (124) together.

4. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the lossy filler (130) comprises a key (194) that locks the lossy filler in the contact organizer (119).

5. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the lossy filler member (130) directly engages the corresponding ground contact (124).

6. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the lossy filler members (130) are planar and spaced apart from one another along parallel ground planes.

7. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein each lossy filler (130) comprises a first edge (186) that engages the first ground contact (124) and a second edge (188) that engages the second ground contact (124).

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the second edge (188) is non-parallel to the first edge (186).

9. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the contact organizer (119) comprises a base (170) made of a low-loss dielectric material, the base having a recess (184) at an inner end (180) of the ground contact channel (160), the lossy filler (130) being injection molded in the recess.

10. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the contact organizer (119) comprises a base (170) made of a low-loss dielectric material, the base having a recess (184) at an inner end (180) of the ground contact channel (160), the lossy filler (130) being inserted into the recess through a top (176) of the contact organizer, the mating shell (118) covering the top of the contact organizer.

11. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the mating housing (118) and the contact organizer (119) are separate and discrete pieces coupled together to hold the contact assembly.